The present disclosure relates to a vessel implant for the treatment of an aneurysm, comprising an elongate body which has an inlet opening, an outlet opening as well as a passage connecting the inlet opening with the outlet opening for blood flowing through the blood vessel, with the passage being bounded in the peripheral direction by a blood-impermeable wall.
An aneurysm is a pathological, spatially restricted dilatation, swelling or expansion of a flood vessel, in particular of an artery. Aneurysms can occur at any section of an artery. Abdominal aortic aneurysms or aneurysms at the popliteal artery occur particularly frequently. Dilated blood vessels are subject to a high risk of rupture so that there is a risk of fatal bleeding. Furthermore, dilated blood vessels tend to become larger. The risk of rupture increases as the diameter of the aneurysm increases since the pressure exerted on the vessel wall of the blood vessel by the blood flowing through the blood vessel increases as the vessel width increases (Bernoulli's Law).
It is known to treat such dilated blood vessels using tubular or hose-shaped implants which are also called stents. In this connection, a stent having a blood-impermeable wall is inserted into the affected blood vessel such that the aneurysm can be bridged by means of the stent. In this connection, the two ends of the stent are fixed in as shape matched a manner as possible at the non-dilated regions of the blood vessel adjoining the dilated region at both sides, whereby a seal of the dilatation should be achieved to prevent blood from continuing to flow into the dilatation. The diameter of such a stent approximately corresponds to the normal diameter of a vessel.
There is, however, the problem with these solutions that small leaks can frequently occur, due to insufficient adaptation to the vessel, between the stent and that region of the vessel wall of the blood vessel at which the stent is fixed. Blood can continue to flow into the aneurysm, in particular due to leaks present at the inlet opening side or due to collateral vessels so that the risk of rupture of the vessel wall in the region of the aneurysm is not eliminated.
It is therefore the underlying object of the disclosure to provide a vessel implant of the initially named kind which reduces the risk of a rupture of the vessel wall in the region of an aneurysm.
This object is satisfied by a vessel implant having the features of claim 1 and in particular in that the inlet opening has a larger cross-sectional area than the outlet opening.